As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew I have gotten to know some amazing, strong in the Lord, blessed woman. One of these beautiful ladies is in dire need of our help. Heather Laurie is a homeschool mom in West Virginia who is in desperate need of our help. I don’t believe I have every met or heard of anyone in such a difficult place. My heart truly aches for this family. In order to give you a brief overview of her situation, I have a list of 10 facts about Heather Laurie.
1. Heather has an illness called Mitochondrial Disease. It is degenerative. It is fatal. It is incurable. There are no existing treatments for it. For more information concerning this disease, click Here.
2. Heather has 5 children. All of them also have Mitochondrial Disease. All of them also have cerebral palsy.
3. Heather’s faithful Navy Veteran husband, Chris, has a job that is 3 hours away from home. He is forced to live in a different city for 5 days of the week, leaving Heather alone to care for and home school 5 severely disabled, terminal children, while simultaneously dealing with her own terminal disease.
4. Heather recently had a stroke. She can no longer drive. She still must somehow care for the children.
5. Heather and two of her children are confined to wheelchairs. Her 6 year old will need a wheelchair very soon. Her youngest is also showing signs of needing one.
6. Heather lives in a two story house. The children cannot walk up and down the stairs, and Heather can no longer carry them. They must slide up and down the stairs on their bottoms.
7. Heather’s yard is on a hill. Due to their disabilities, the children cannot play on a sloping surface and the street offers the only flat area for play. Therefore, Heather’s children do not play outside.
8. Heather cannot afford to move into the city where her husband works because huge medical bills have completely destroyed their credit.
9. Four of Heather’s five children have suffered strokes, stroke-like episodes and seizures. One child needs brain surgery.
10. Four of the children are autistic, and struggle with learning disabilities, behavioral problems, GI dysfunction, immune deficiencies, and migraines.
Heather Laurie has ministered to others for years in the special needs community. She gives hours of volunteer work from her home: posting encouraging articles, messages, advice, links, blogs, and more to parents with special needs children. The BIP team has decided that it’s time for someone to give back to her. (If you’d like to read more about the Laurie family, visit their website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauries)
How You Can Help!
The Laurie family needs a new house. It is inconceivable that they have made it this far in a house that is so unsuitable for their needs. They need a single-story house that can accommodate at least 5 wheelchairs, and has temperature control, air filters, and other special amenities that these children require to live a healthy life. The well-known TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition is looking for a family to help in West Virginia. The Laurie family has applied for a house, and they have a chance of getting on the show and receiving a specially built house for free. However, the decision makers at the TV station want to know that people care about this family enough to nominate them. In order for the Laurie’s to get on the show, the EMHE inbox needs to be flooded with emails and Facebook posts nominating them! That’s where you come in. Here’s what you can do:
1.
Send an email to EMHEcastingdept@gmail.com with the name “Heather Laurie” or “Laurie Family from WV” in the subject line. You can type a detailed message about their situation, or you can say something as simple as “I would like to nominate Heather Laurie of West Virginia for a new house. Please help this deserving family!” You could also include a link to the Laurie Family website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauries
2.
Go to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Discussion Board and post a topic with the Laurie family’s name in the title. In the message body you can write a new message, re-use the message that you emailed, or you can copy and paste part of this newsletter.
3.
If you have a Facebook account, go to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Page, and click “Like”.In the discussion board section, search for the topic posted by Heather Laurie with the title “Our 7 member family has 6 with a progressive life shortening disease. We need your help!” and write a message nominating her. Again, you can copy and paste the facts from this newsletter, or compose your own unique message.
Feel free to do one, two, or all three of these steps. It only takes 5 minutes and could totally rock this family’s world.
In addition to nominating the Laurie’s for EMHE, Bright Ideas Press is hosting a special fundraiser sale on Saturday, May 21st. On this day only, 20% of all sales made with the Laurie family’s name in the comments section of your order form will be donated directly to the Laurie family. If you are planning on purchasing any curriculum from Bright Ideas Press for the next school year, I encourage you to make your purchase on May 21st. Do not forget: putting the Laurie family’s name in the comments section of your order form will give 20% of your payment as a donation to the Laurie Family Fund.
Thank You So Much for Your Help!!!
Please continue to keep the Laurie’s in prayer. We know that God will provide for them one way or another!
Mandy
Disclaimer: Post used with permission from BrightIdeasPress newsletter.
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